Lancaster, T., & Clarke, R. (2016). There are no winners of this race to the bottom when it comes to the global problem of contract cheating and plagiarism in post-pandemic higher education. To investigate the role of such factors, this recent work compared survey findings in relation to a group of respondents who had engaged in one or more of the cheating behaviours with those respondents that were categorised as a non-cheating group (Bretag et al., 2018). Education must be considered holistically in appreciating the contemporary context, which is often characterised by affordances of the digital environment; moreover, to ensure good governance and sustainability, the wider economic, social and technological dimensions surrounding academic integrity and misconduct must be taken into account (Goedegebuure & Davis, 2017). AllAssignmentHelp claims to be the worlds number one assignment help service. Clarke, R., & Lancaster, T. (2013). In another study, when lecturers were alerted to contract cheating and trained to detect it, the detection accuracy increased from 58 to 82% (Dawson & Sutherland-Smith, 2019). Roberts, T. S. (2007). We followed up and examined the first five results in detail. (2017). Specifically, the key factors identified as significantly related to the likelihood of cheating behaviours are students International or LOTE (Language Other than English at home) status, higher levels of dissatisfaction with the teaching and learning environment, and perceptions that there are lots of opportunities to cheat (Ibid., pp. Accessed 18 Oct 2018, Ferrell G (2013) Supporting assessment and feedback practice with technology: from tinkering to transformation. Visentin, L. (2015). International Journal for Educational Integrity, 17(3). https://theconversation.com/online-exam-monitoring-can-invade-privacy-and-erode-trust-at-universities-149335. This high-stakes plagiarism checking tool is the gold standard for academic researchers and publishers. Plain English definition of academic integrity. McKie, 2018), but it could be argued that news stories simplify the issue, which is clearly complex, or could be seen as alarmist in approach. The article has been authored solely by Erica J. Morris. Pakistan Journal of Medical Sciences, 36(COVID19-S4). Notably, the misleading advertising regarding the $50 discount did not translate into reality, highlighting the vulnerabilities that students are exposing themselves to by using these services. Danovskis, E. (2012). Your US state privacy rights, Studies in Higher Education, 39(1), 4867. Technology enhanced assessment (TEA) in COVID 19 pandemic. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 44(5), 715725. The results of the websites were analysed using theme-based approach. The toolbox for local and global plagiarism detection. This leads to a problem of global proportions that must be collaboratively addressed by universities and academics, both while technology is being developed to curb these practices and after such development, with a constant need to remain alert to new developments that could threaten academic integrity. Since 1992, the International Center for Academic Integrity (ICAI) has worked with academic communities around the globe to promote a culture of academic integrity and discourage academic misconduct. As early as 1960, ghost-writers were reproached for writing speeches (Bormann, 1961). Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative. Hillier, M. (2020, 22 April). Erica J. Morris. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-287-098-8. clear, actionable definitions of academic integrity. Further, the implementation of a holistic approach must be applicable and responsive to the institutional context, with implementation entailing institutional resources to be committed and significant time for institutional change to be realised (Morris and Carroll, 2016). Cite this article. Commercial aspects of contract cheating. In reporting on this, a secondary or consequent aim of the study is to alert lecturers and universities to the diversification and prominence of this dangerous practice. Correspondence to 3(2). The websites had mobile contact numbers, WhatsApp assistance and persistent online chat options. Suen, H. K., & Yu, L. (2006). Results froma pilot study. So, in May 2020, after five years of teaching, I decided to go undercover to discover what options students can avail themselves of in terms of ordering assignments, and what barriers are in place in the same regard. Sankey, M. The Australasian Council on Open Distance and eLearning (ACODE) and the Council of Australasian University Directors of Information Technology, COVID-19 Exam Software Survey 2020 (4 August 2020) https://www.acode.edu.au/pluginfile.php/8244/mod_resource/content/2/eExamsWhitepaper.pdf. It is important for students, teachers, researchers and all staff to act in an honest way, be responsible for their actions, and show fairness in every part of their work. International Journal of Computer Theory and Engineering, 4(2), 185. College [or education] is not a commodity. It is a deeply concerning that academic writing services are widely available and that a small minority of students are turning to a third party to produce their assignments. Furthermore, if students order in bulk, they receive a 50% discount. Accessed 18 Oct 2018, Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) (2017) Contracting to cheat in higher education. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1007/s40979-017-0022-5, East, J. Media coverage has mirrored these concerns (e.g. 144-159): IGI Global. This limitation, again, points to the scale of the problem because the providers of contract cheating services can be found offline, in file-sharing websites, through social media and websites offering gigs, such as Fiverr and essay millsto name several other alternatives. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1080/02602938.2019.1658714. live chat, 24/7 help facility). Assignmentgeek is similar to the above services and has the slogan of the fastest way to better grades. Academic integrity during COVID-19: Reflections from the University of Calgary. This ranks as the third website in Google search results in 2020 and 2021. Sousa-Silva, R. (2020). A multi-disciplinary pre-post study. Contract cheating is an umbrella term that describes all forms of outsourced academic work, whether text-based or non-text-based, and multiple providers (eg, Chegg, Course Hero, various essay mills) of outsourced academic work. Similar measures were implemented by countries across the globe. https://takemyclassesonline.com/take-my-exam-help.php. Good policy should create a culture and systems of integrity that is clear, systematised, adequately resourced and just. The problem has become so significant that the term contract cheating has superseded ghost-writing in the global university sector where the problem is increasingly recognised as a formidable challenge to the preservation of academic integrity (Lancaster, 2019; Walker et al. These services may use humans, artificial intelligence and other digitally based tools to monitor students undergoing examination. Assess Eval High Educ 43(4):652665, Smith A (2018) As a matter of fairness and social justice, we must ban essay mills. This paper identifies five considerations for universities and colleges that are particularly relevant to this endeavour, including how the issue of contract cheating can be addressed: determining academic integrity Future research must focus on developing a model of collaboration to address this problem on several levels, taking into account (1) individual academics, (2) universities, (3) countries and (4) international communities. This type of academic dishonesty suggests "deliberate, pre-planned, and intentional" deception (Newton 2018, p. 2). Contract Cheating and File Sharing - Academic Integrity at UBC Online examinations provide another avenue for contract cheating, and the literature suggests that students will cheat during online examinations if given the opportunity (King et al., 2009; Mata, 2020). One response to the COVID-19 pandemic has been for universities to employ commercial third-party online assessment services to invigilate, or proctor, examinations. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.299.15.1800. https://doi.org/10.1080/07294360802183788. This short-term solution to a pandemic situation might have far-reaching implications for the integrity of the education system worldwide. In: Bretag T (ed) Handbook of academic integrity. Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency. Int J Educ Integr 14(1). Bretag, T. (2017). My Assignment Help is rated 4.9/5, based on 14,001 reviews, and has an instant chat function. Due to COVID-19, universities with limited expertise with the digital environment had to rapidly transition to online teaching and assessment. In: Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute. Get inspired by educators who are transforming assessment into meaningful learning while maintaining integrity at its core. The article contributes to the discourse on contract cheating by reporting on an investigation of the scope and scale of the growing problems related to academic integrity exacerbated by an urgent transition to online assessments during the COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of Applied Teaching and Learning (JALT), 3(1). Academic Integrity to be published by ABC Clio/Libraries Unlimited in 2021. In the UK, there is currently a petition to Government to Ban the provision and advertising of essay mill cheating services,Footnote 4 with current endorsement of this petition expressed by, for example, a senior leader at an institution (Smith, 2018). The Conversation. Lancaster, T., & Clarke, R. (2008). Lancaster, T. & Cotarlan, C. (2021). Universities must also be productive contributors to the economy, but significant improvements must be made before this can occur in an effective and efficient manner (Goedegebuure & Marshman, 2017). (2020 4). The top five results were identified and analysed using exploratory content analysis methods in two points of time: mid-2020 (when pandemic was first declared and assignments or exams were due) and early 2021 (once the universities and students had time to adjust to new normal). Before undertaking this research, we were under the impression that assignment ghost-writing was not so widespread and such a mainstream service; however, we now understand that such services are readily available. Eaton, S. E., Crossman, K., Behjat, L., Yates, R. M., Fear, E., & Trifkovic, M. (2020). What is contract cheating? What does it have to do with academic integrity? Though the details of good policy are too numerous to recount here, a range of tools to assist with such a task has been formulated, with the Exemplary Academic Integrity Toolkit being one example (https://lo.unisa.edu.au/course/view.php?id=6751). Paper presented at the 2013 IEEE 8th International Conference on Industrial and Information Systems. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40979-021-00070-0. Follow our progress on detection initiatives for AI writing, ChatGPT, and AI-paraphrasing. The primary concern for such institutions is that no lecturer can be confident that the person taking an exam is the intended student and not someone else with the students login. Pmies MD, Valverde M, Cross C. (2020). Governance for sustainability in higher education. In addition to publishing and enforcing the codes of conducts, the Advisory Statement recommends encouraging whistle-blowing practices, a measure that can be encouraged by universities. Custom essay writing services: an exploration and next steps for the UK higher education sector. Especially if there is money involved, there can be no doubt that this was done on purpose. https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/227277. The Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) in the UK have encouraged institutions to maintain detailed records on academic misconduct, differentiating between contract cheating and other forms to enable institutions to evaluate whether responses to address contract cheating are effective (QAA, 2017). Plagiarism: Not only an ethical matter, But An Illegal Act. Bin-Habtoor, A., & Zaher, M. (2012). Generally, plagiarism occurs when the work of another is presented without acknowledgement. Macdonald & Carroll, 2006; Morris, 2016; Sutherland-Smith, 2008). Kakti, L. (2018). For example, on the Edubirdie website, it is stated: If you cant write that essay, EduBirdie can and at the bottom of the What is EduBirdie? page on the website the following is given: it may be tempting to use the content we provide you as your own work, but we advise you to please use our services responsibly. PubMedGoogle Scholar. There is a loyalty programme, a chance to win $2000 and a $2 reward for providing feedback. Google Scholar. Why college is not a commodity. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40979-017-0024-3, Exemplary Academic Integrity Project (EAIP) (2013) Embedding and extending exemplary academic integrity policy and support frameworks across the higher education sector. It has also been necessary to question commonly held ideas relating to how assessment design is a key solution to contract cheating (Bretag & Harper, 2017): for instance, personalised, sequential and original assessments will not necessarily prevent this form of academic misconduct as, in principle, any form of assessment (or aspects of an assignment) can be outsourced. All authors read and approved the final manuscript. The results demonstrate nimble and adaptable response of illegal contract cheating websites to the global pandemic. Bretag, T., Harper, R., Burton, M., Ellis, C., Newton, P., van Haeringen, K., Saddiqui, S., & Rozenberg, P. (2019). Existing systems have gaps that are being addressed but are not resolved at this stage (Bin-Habtoor & Zaher, 2012). There is a lot of work to be done and also being donewithin classrooms and in government. 44(5), 676-669. doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1080/02602938.2018.1527892. In this way, education becomes viewed as a commodity (Gutting, 2015; Rawlings, 2015) rather than something earned through intellectual labour and through a process of improving skills in academic writing, critical thinking and communication.
